Following the Snake
by Stark01
Summary: What did Sasuke do after joining the snake lord? This story tracks the missions, adventures and dangers that Kabuto Yakushi and Sasuke Uchiha face as subordinates of Orochimaru. Takes place around one year after Sasuke leaves Konoha and continues onward.
1. Summoning

**_Following the Snake_**

Opening Note:

Welcome everyone! This story focuses on what happens to Sasuke, Kabuto and Orochimaru between parts one and two of Naruto. I find all of these characters to be quite interesting, so I hope you will like these stories that I write about them. Also, note that I do not own any part of Naruto. It belongs to Masashi Kishimoto-sensei. Now, enjoy!

. . .

**Chapter 1: Summoning**

The dim lights flickered shadows against the beige stone walls. The cool damp air circulated slowly within the large room. The older teen stood tall and erect on the far side of the room, preparing for what was to come. He was a highly skilled medical ninja and could manipulate chakra flawlessly. A soft humming sound echoed around the empty space as he gathered the lightning like material into his hands forming scalpels of chakra. The space around him let off a gentle blue glow that eventually melded into the darkness of the rest of the room. The light danced on his expressionless face and shone off of his rounded glasses as his hands rose in a battle stance. His eyes were fixed intently on the opposite side of the room where yet another young ninja stood. His red eyes pierced through the darkness. Upon them, black teardrop shapes hung around circles surrounding his pupils. His face lacked emotion, but his powerful widened eyes gave him such a menacing look. He grasped one wrist with the opposite hand and pumped chakra into it. Unlike the smooth uniform chakra blades, his chakra sat as a tangle of sparks in his hand. The chakra flowed organically and let off a chirping sound. The blue light it emulated shone on the teen's shiny and spiked black hair. After inspecting the material in his hand for a minute, he began to charge across the room "Chidori!"

As he ran, air rippling against his white robe, he showed neither fear nor hesitation. There was no need for that. This scene had played out countless times before. His master always gave him training lessons in private after which he would seek out the med ninja for a sparring match. Training was always the highlight of his day. Becoming stronger was what he strove for. It was for this that he had given up his previous way of living. He was an ex ninja of Konoha after he left the village to join the S class criminal, Orochimaru, almost a year earlier. The raven haired ninja knew this man had the power to make him more powerful. To acquire this strength was his top priority because it was the only way that he could fulfill his goal in life. His goal was to kill his brother who had caused him so much pain. He wanted to avenge his entire clan who had been slaughtered. He also wanted revenge against the man who committed the deed and who had left him the only survivor; left to face the torture that was loneliness. His ambition gave him purpose in life; a reason to keep on living. He held onto this goal tightly as it gave purpose to his life. His goal was always with him, even as the bottoms of his shoes against the cold stone floor echoed throughout the high ceiling of the room.

The medical ninja watched carefully on the opposite side of the room. He made a few sidesteps to rid the other ninja of the advantage of extra speed with a straight shot. However it was not as if the sharingan teen lacked in speed without the extra boost. The medic would have preferred to be in his lab researching instead of fighting, but it was his master's order to help the younger ninja with his training. He had him do this because the leader of the sound village was often very busy with other duties, not having time for training every day. Also, Orochimaru was very cautious when it came to his precious sharingan holder Sasuke Uchiha. Even though the snake lord placed curse marks on his pawns to keep them in his control, he was still wary and had Sasuke spar only with his medic, Kabuto, the only subordinate that he truly trusted. The snake lord was sure that there were many subordinates of his that despised Sasuke and would like to kill him if they were given the chance. In addition, he knew the young mednin to be his strongest asset and as the red eyed boy grew stronger, he would tire fighting anyone but the strongest. The Sannin was careful when it came to Sasuke because he was a vital piece to his plan.

His plan was to live forever, to learn and master every technique to become the most powerful ninja of all time. Then he would have the strength to destroy his old village, Konoha, as well. He would not stop there. He would also have the power to control the entire world. However, to fulfill his plan he needed a young body to replace his own. Even though his soul could live on forever, bodies did not. He had already transferred himself into a younger vessel, but he wanted one that was stronger. The Uchiha was perfect for his purposes as he carried the clan's bloodline limit, the sharingan, giving him the ability and potential for copying opponent's techniques as well as using various genjutsu techniques. Because of his great importance, the snake lord entrusted the young sharingan warrior to Kabuto only. There was no room for any more mistakes. His master's wishes stood in his mind as the ninja clad in purple watched the younger teen close in on him. At the very last second, the medic used the earth style release technique to plunge himself underground. He lifted his arms up with the intention of snagging the black haired boy's legs with the chakra scalpels. Even though the mednin had timed the attack perfectly, the sharingan could pick up the attack fast enough for Sasuke to dodge it.

The ninja with silver hair emerged from the ground to attack the other ninja in the arm while the Uchiha predicted the move and spun around for an attack with chidori. Kabuto was able to land his attack on the younger teen's arm, but not before his shirt was partially singed by the chidori. He quickly jumped back to keep the tangle of chakra in the boy's hand from burning his chest. Meanwhile, the red eyed ninja also jumped back as the attack from the chakra scalpel weakened the muscles in his arm and hindered the chakra flow within it. After a few seconds, his clump of electric-like chakra fizzled out. The distance between the two ninja was only a couple of meters and each ninja could see the other clearly in the still rather dark room. The medic could feel the intensity of the younger ninja's eyes. They were eyes full of determination; eyes made to strike fear into ones enemies. They reminded him of the snake lord's eyes. It made sense since Sasuke was his apprentice.

Looking into those eyes reminded the medical ninja of when he had first joined with the Sannin. The ninja with the glasses had been discarded by the village he served. He was a spy with no past and had no idea of who he really was. What little he had built during his time in Konoha was destroyed. Even that was not much as the different faces he constantly wore and changed as a spy made him even more confused of who he was. Left for nothing, he joined Orochimaru. His goal was to have his existence acknowledged. He struggled to find out and build who he really was inside; not the person wandering with no real identity, a spy who always changes who he is. To create his existence, he looked to the snake lord who created his existence by the gaining of knowledge and power. The key was adding to himself. Kabuto used this as his example for confirming his existence. That was why conducting his experiments and improving his medical techniques was so important to him. Because he just wanted to know who he was. He would always strive to build himself up. With his goal tucked deep within him, the mednin raised his arms once again, this time preparing for close combat.

Sasuke produced a katana from the rope tied around his waist which served as a belt. Sword style was the technique he had that was perfect for close combat. The blade was thin and the shiny clean metal gleamed in the darkness. The two ninja engaged in battle, each throwing attacks while blocking the blows from the other ninja. The blade of the sword clashed against the blade of chakra. Their movements were quick and they reacted perfectly to each other's movements. Concentration was written on each of their faces.

Their faces were stern, but they did not wear an expression filled with annoyance which they would always wear when they had first become associates. They used to loathe each other. Kabuto hated the young sharingan ninja's bratty attitude and the way he disrespected his master. Sasuke found Kabuto to be an annoyance and a hindrance to him becoming stronger. He also just saw the mednin as Orochimaru's pet. Over time things changed a bit. They went on missions and trained together. They were not friends. However, they did tolerate each other although they would never admit it. Perhaps the reason for this was that even though they were different from each other and had different goals, they each still pursued their goals relentlessly. They both shared that common determination and to follow their goals both had to follow the snake.

The boy with the spiked black hair backed away from the clash as sweat began to form on both of the ninja's faces. The younger teen closed his eyes for just one second and then took in a deep breath to focus himself. He then bit his thumb causing blood to slowly trickle from the wound. The ninja with rounded glasses stood back with an amused smirk on his face. He would let the other ninja go on with his technique and was curious about how it would turn out. The Uchiha wiped the blood from his thumb onto the palm of his other hand. He then began to form various hand signs: boar, dog, monkey, bird, and sheep. The ninja with the silver ponytail watched carefully as the other ninja formed all of the seals correctly. Once he was finished, the younger ninja slammed his bloody palm onto the ground.

There was a poof of smoke and both shinobi stared in shock as to what appeared in front of them once the small cloud dispersed. Before them was a creature that was long and thin. It was flexible and its body was positioned in the shape of an 's'. Its dark body was covered in slimy scales and its black eyes glistened with moisture. Pointed teeth could be seen as it exposed its slender pink tongue. However, the creature that sat before them was not one that would stir fear in those who beheld its presence. The snake was no more than ten centimeters in length. The shinobi looked in shock for a few moments as the serpent in turn gave them a look of confusion. It lied still, feeling out of place with the stares it received.

"Well Sasuke-kun" the medical ninja finally broke the silence "there are situations in which this kind of snake would be useful. An infiltration is a good example. It is small and unnoticed by the enemy. Assassinations as well because it is sly and deadly" He paused for a moment. "However, this snake here would not be appropriate for the current situation. Also notice its coloring. It's not even poisonous. You need a snake that is larger for a battle situation which means you need to put more chakra into your summoning" Once he had finished speaking his thoughts of Sasuke's performance, Kabuto noticed the younger ninja glare at him with his piercing red eyes. The ninja furrowed his black eyebrows, annoyed.

"I know what I'm doing. I don't need to be lectured by you" the Uchiha growled. "Orochimaru just taught me this technique today. I still need to experiment with it more. Summoning is not all about putting in as much chakra as you can because you have to use the right amount of chakra to summon the right snake depending on the situation. Of course I do not want to summon a puny snake, but I also can't just summon a giant one". He gestured to the underground room that they were in. "It is just not right for this area." The medic was relieved that the other ninja knew the premise for what he was supposed to do. But then he let out a small grin as he understood what the younger shinobi was referring to "You mean that you do not want to summon Manda" the silver haired ninja remarked.

The mention of the giant snake reminded Sasuke of earlier that day. It was one of the days where Orochimaru would train him and teach him new techniques. The snake lord was often busy with the various duties he had in order to run the sound village and move closer to his goal. Training days were not as often as Sasuke would have liked, but when those days did come along he was always eager. Getting stronger would push him closer to his own goal. He was eager to learn more techniques and skills; however he would never show this satisfaction to Orochimaru and instead would give him his cold stern face that he would usually wear. The day's lesson was on summoning. And as the sannin's specialty, Sasuke had to learn to summon snakes. The snake lord let Sasuke know that summoning was an important technique and the snakes summoned were ninja tools that could be used in many ways. If it was not already obvious that the Sannin was amused by snakes, it was definitely clear after his short speech. The first step to being able to summon was to make a blood contract with the animal that one wishes to summon. The snake lord had presented him with the scroll in which he had then pressed his blood upon.

Orochimaru had then brought him to the lair of snakes and showed him the different snakes that were available to be summoned. He saw many snakes small and large. The largest was Manta. He was obviously the leader and head snake. The snake's skin was purple with thin black stripes. His eyes were a piercing emerald. He gave Sasuke a deriding look and then turned to the sannin and scowled "Why are you bringing me another brat?" The snake did not seem very friendly in the first place and his size could intimidate anyone, and from the way he spoke, Sasuke could see that his personality matched his appearance perfectly. Then the raven haired teen started to think about what the snake had actually said. 'Another brat' a mischievous grin appeared on his face as he thought of a younger Kabuto in his situation, being belittled by a snake. "For bothering me with such insignificant matters, I expect some sacrifices you know" the large snake continued. The little smirk was erased from the boy's face as he was reminded that this was not some kind of joke and that this snake was truly dangerous. However, dangerous could be used to his advantage. The snake could be his weapon. He would just have to use it at the right time.

The sound of the mednin's voice grabbed the Uchiha's thoughts away from the flashback "Manda is very moody and it is troublesome to summon him unless it is absolutely necessary" The sharingan ninja met the eyes covered with glasses "You don't need to tell me things that I already know" The two ninja's eyes met and it was clear that both were a bit annoyed with the other. "Yeah, Manda nii-chan can be pretty scary sometimes but I don't think he really is" piped up an innocent and cheerful voice that belonged to the tiny serpent on the floor. Kabuto looked carefully at the snake trying to remember if he had seen it before. He had met so many snakes during his time with Orochimaru it was not easy to remember all of them. "Kabuto nii-chan, do I get to go on a mission with you? All of the other snakes get to have important jobs but I never to get to anything. It's not fair!" the tiny snake whined.

'Of course, how could I forget such an annoying and useless snake' the medic thought to himself. Also, there was only one snake that was stupid enough to dare disrespect pretty much every dangerous person and being by referring to them as 'nii-chan'. "Yamato-kun, you know very well that you are too young for that, but once you grow some more then you will be able to, alright?" The small snake looked disappointed at Kabuto's explanation, but did not bother to argue with him. As stubborn as the serpent was, he knew that he would not have his way with the mednin.

The silver haired ninja then turned his attention to the other shinobi. "Alright Sasuke-kun, I will let you practice with the amounts of chakra and then we can finish when you are ready" The boy with the raven hair watched as the medic started to stride out of the room. Then he stopped abruptly stopped and whirled around as pawn of Orochimaru appeared at the other entrance on the opposite side of the room. The man standing in the doorway looked a little nervous as he bowed before the two ninja "Kabuto-san. Sasuke-san. Orochimaru-sama wishes to see the both of you in his room". The mednin and Uchiha glanced at each other. Both were a bit disappointed. One wanted to finally get back to his lab work while the other just wanted to practice summoning. However, both headed promptly to the Sannin because when it came to Orochimaru's orders there was no other option.

. . .

Closing Note:

This is my first fic, so thank you all for reading. Please review, comment, love, etc. And while you are waiting for the next chapter to come out, here is something for you to think about: who is better, Sasuke or Kabuto and why? Well, I will see you next chapter and thanks again ^.^


	2. Investigating

**_Following the Snake_**

Opening Note:

Welcome! I will start of with saying that I do not own any part of Naruto. Instead, it belongs to the amazing Masashi Kishimoto-sensei. Thank you to everyone who has commented, faved and follwed already. Well, here is chapter two, so enjoy!

. . .

**Chapter 2: Investigating**

The branches were shaded by the leaves and the air in the underbrush was cool. Underneath the canopy of trees, two ninja took advantage of the benefits of the cover as well as a convenient way to travel through the forest. Kabuto Yakushi and Sasuke Uchiha had received the details of their mission from Orochimaru and were prepared for their task. It had been their first mission for quite a while and it was clear by the raven haired ninja's quick pace that he was eager to be able to put his skills to practice. Sparing a glance towards his squad member, the medic with the rounded glasses had to admit that he had seen quite an improvement in the young ninja's skill over time. Although his increased power made him a more valuable partner, the mednin hoped that the Uchiha's haste would not get in the way. He knew that the red eyed teen had a tendency to do things his own way.

The snake lord's instructions were clear. To the east of the Orochimaru's lair, there was a sound village research base. To assist in the completion of the Sannin's goal to learn as many techniques as possible, the base existed in order to study the bloodline limits and traits of various clans and ninja. The research done there was special and confidential information belonging to the sound village and the base had reported an information leak to the snake lord. So the mission for his elite team was to locate the person responsible and to stop the leak.

The sharingan ninja looked straight ahead as he seemed to float above the branches as he glided swiftly and stealthily through the forest. In the two man squad, he trailed behind the medic. It was only natural as Kabuto was technically the team's leader. He also was familiar with the base's location as he had been there a few times before with Orochimaru. So, Sasuke just followed patiently, looking out to see if he could spot the base anywhere close.

After traveling for a few hours, the silver haired ninja stopped at an extremely large tree. As enormous as it was, it was not a rare sight in the heart of the sound's forests. Looking carefully, the younger teen could see an entrance at the base of the tree. It was a small gray stone building that obviously lead underground to where the research center actually was. It reminded Sasuke of the main base that he Orochimaru and Kabuto resided in. The gray building did not blend into the forest, but it was small and unnoticeable in the large forest. The two ninja approached the entrance when suddenly a tall woman emerged from within the fortress and Kabuto recognized her to be the ninja in charge of that particular base.

She greeted the medic "Ah, Kabuto-san". Then she turned to the younger ninja. "And this must be Sasuke-san." she said with a smile that was obviously a forced one. There was a problem going on in the base and being the head, she was unsettled by the situation. The woman continued without allowing the others to first react to her pleasantries. "Please come inside so we can discuss the situation in private" As she whirled around, her long blonde hair was caught by a breeze and gleamed golden in the sunlight. It then resumed its position draped on the woman's shoulders.

The two man squad followed her into the base. She wore a long white lab coat and the tail of it fluttered behind her as she walked. While the medic focused on her, his subordinate beside him looked around to become oriented with the new surroundings. His eyes glanced along the walls of the long dim hallway lined with doors leading to unknown rooms. There were workers periodically passing them in the halls in lab coats. Each was always absorbed in a clipboard, a flask or a pile of papers. The atmosphere was eerie, but that did not seem to bother the raven haired teen one bit. The woman finally stopped at one door which was locked with a seal. She formed a hand sign to break the seal and then lead the teens into an office. She sat behind a large, dark wooden desk while motioning to two chairs placed in front of it.

Once everyone was seated, the blonde got down to business. "You have been asked to come here to deal with an information leak that has been troubling our base. We would like you to investigate the situation and stop the leak as soon as possible. I am sure you are aware of how vital that is" Of course they knew that the mission was important. If it had been otherwise, the Sannin would have just sent some low class ninja or chunin instead of his most elite squad. The job could have been assigned to regular jonin, but Orochimaru left it to his two man squad just to be safe and because Sasuke would get irritated if he did not get a mission every once in a while.

The woman pulled open one of the drawers and set a tall stack of papers on top of the desk. "These are profiles and information on all of the employees here at the base as well as our test subjects. You may look over these to try to narrow down people who you may suspect to be behind the leak. Even if there are people outside of the base who are involved in this, they have to at least have one person on the inside. You will also have access to all of the base's facilities to make things easier for you" She pushed the papers across the desk and the medical ninja began to glance through some of the files.

Then, there was a knock at the door and a man with a stern face walked in. "I am sorry for the interruption president, but the research team requires your presence in lab 201" he said bluntly. "Understood", she responded to the man standing in the doorway. The blonde then directed her attention back to the ninja in front of her for a moment. "I am sorry, I must leave now. Please come see me if you are able to get a lead on the case or if you need anything." The head of the base then rose from her chair and left the room with the stern-faced man.

Kabuto split the stack of papers and handed half to Sasuke. "Here, you take this half and pull out any profiles you find suspicious" He then began flipping through the half that he kept for himself. The raven haired boy let out a sigh, "Why do we have to do this investigating?" The medic looked up at him "There are many different types of missions. This one is more like spy work. I know that is not really your taste, but it will be good for you to hone in on these kinds of skills". The Uchiha just gave a 'hmph' as his response to the other ninja's explanation.

The mednin was also a highly trained spy, so this kind of work was much more natural for him than missions that required battles and survival. He was easily able to sort through his pile to pick out suspects. The younger shinobi activated his sharingan and carefully watched as the medic picked out profiles. Sasuke looked for patterns and similarities between the different people that Kabuto had chosen as suspects. With his sharingan, the raven haired boy was quickly able to figure out the criteria that the other ninja used for sorting his stack. He then started to apply this strategy to his pile and was even able to finish sorting his before Kabuto.

Kabuto looked up as Sasuke stood and headed for the door. "I already picked out my suspects so I am going to start my investigation" he told the medic with a smirk. 'This sort of mission may be more your thing, but with my sharingan, I am a fast learner' he thought to himself. And from the annoyed look on Kabuto's face, the Uchiha could tell that he knew it as well. "Whatever" said the mednin as he turned back to his paperwork. Then as an afterthought, he looked up again and said "We will meet back here at five o'clock to discuss our progress". Sasuke just nodded and then strode out of the room.

The Uchiha navigated around the base stealthily. He did not want to be seen because if whoever was behind the leak knew they were being investigated, they would not act openly and Sasuke would get no evidence. He started his investigation in lab 145 because working in that lab were two researchers that were on the raven haired boy's list of suspects. It would save time by probing both at the same time and since they were both suspects, it was possible that the two of them were both working together in the crime.

The two researchers were named Takuto and Dai. Sasuke chose to probe them because of one main reason. They belonged to a clan that was wiped out during a power struggle when Otakagure wanted to annex their land. They were the only surviving members of the clan and the land on which the clan lived was taken along with the small country that it was a part of. Having their land taken and no clan members left, they had no choice but to join the sound village. And since they were scientists, Orochimaru took advantage of their skill set and had them working in the research base.

Sasuke snuck into the lab and knew that the two were viable suspects. They would definitely have a grudge against the sound village for the destruction of their clan. 'Of course they would seek out revenge' Sasuke thought as he entered the lab.

To Sasuke's delight, the ceiling of the room was rather high and he swiftly jumped up into its shadows before anyone could notice his presence. The raven haired boy stood upside down on the ceiling by controlling his chakra and pushing it into his feet. He squatted slightly to be sure that that shadows were masking his entire body. Situated in his hidden spot, the red eyed shinobi then focused on what the other inhabitants of the room were doing.

Then, he slowly turned his head towards his left shoulder when he suddenly noticed something moving on it. As a ninja, he was prepared for anything. But as he looked carefully, he could see the outline of a snake draped over his shoulder. A frown appeared on his face since he knew exactly who was there: Yamato.

"What are you doing here?" he snapped in a low voice directed at the serpent. "I wanted to go on the mission too" the diminutive snake retorted. "Go home" the teen responded in a stern voice. The scaly creature did not give up "Please let me stay. I promise I won't bother you" he begged. The Uchiha just about had enough of the pesky snake "Go now, or I'll wring your neck" he threatened.

"I know Sasuke nii-chan would never do something like that" the serpent said confidently, his tone changed. The teen was about to snap at the tiny snake, but then he realized that what he had said was true. As aggravating as Yamato was, the raven haired boy could not hurt him. That was because the snakes were a necessary tool for him and harming one of them would put him on their bad side. That was something that Sasuke did not need. He let out a sigh and then turned to the serpent who was wearing a hopeful look on his face. "Fine, you can stay. Just be quiet and stay out of my way" he told him. Yamato was so happy that he was finally on a mission that he could have squealed for joy. However, he knew that doing so would produce a negative reaction from the agitated teen and decided instead to keep silent. With the snake perched on his shoulder, Sasuke proceeded to watch what was taking place below him.

Despite the high ceiling, the room was not especially enormous. There were vents in the ceiling that were used to circulate the air in the room and to remove fumes. The teen was grateful for the vents because the rough buzzing noise they made drowned out the sound of his breathing. The walls in the room were rock; the same as in the hallways. Against the walls were several tables holding test tubes and flasks with chemicals and substances that the Uchiha could not identify. There were also large machines with tubes and pipes coming out from them. Two researchers were standing in the middle of the room. One was tall, skinny and had dirty blonde hair. From the profile that Sasuke had read, he could tell that the first man was Dai. The other was short, muscular and had chestnut brown hair. The teen recognized the man to be Takuto. The two scientists were standing around an examination table with a light beaming over it. Sitting on top of the table was a teenage boy. He looked average by Sasuke's standards, but the fact that he was being studied in one of Orochimaru's bases meant that there was something special about him. He had to have some sort of rare technique or skill.

The researchers continued to loom over the boy, giving him shots and placing various medical utensils over him. After each inspection, they would jot something down on their clipboards. The look on the teen's face made it clear that he was used to the routine of being fussed over. There seemed to be a mutual understanding between the three of them and they knew their daily schedule by heart. Not much was said except for the occasional 'You seem to be doing well' or 'We are just going to take a blood sample now' by one of the scientists. Nothing really seemed too suspicious as Sasuke looked on, but he was sure that the two researchers would not discuss any of their possible secret plans while the boy sitting in their presence.

So, the Uchiha sat and waited patiently. When probing for information and evidence, one usually does not find what he is looking for right away. He was waiting for when the scientists would be finished with the kid. Then they would have time to be alone before seeing their next patient and during that time was when he would be able to gain some intelligence.

Yamato was very bored as he was waiting and was surprised at how focused Sasuke was. He was a true shinobi. He was concentrated on the mission and even though there was not much happening at that moment, he was still attentive. The small serpent on the other hand was not so patient and felt like moaning and complaining but knew that that too was a bad idea.

It was a few hours before the two researchers were finished with their examination and dismissed the boy. Sasuke watched as they wrote down notes and then put the papers in a file which would be sent to the base's office to keep on file. They then began to set up different equipment, preparing for the next patient. During the prep period, the two men conversed, but there was nothing about their conversation that struck the Uchiha as suspicious. They were following the correct procedures that were required of them by the base.

After a few minutes, a woman who was a lab assistant entered and took the files that the researchers had created. Sasuke stealthily followed her out of the room to make sure that the files made their way to the main office. It was possible that she was an accomplice with the two scientists. The woman brought the files to the office and Sasuke was a bit disappointed because after all of those hours of probing, he decided that the two researchers were clear of suspicions. The raven haired teen thought that he probably spent a little too much time on just one case. But, he figured that if he was going to spend time on investigating a suspect, he must be there long enough to get the correct information otherwise that would truly be a waste of time.

As the sharingan warrior walked down the long corridor, he shuffled through his pile of profiles trying to decide on the next person to investigate. However, he noticed a clock that was on the wall and saw that it was one minute until five o'clock. 'Crap' he thought as he turned around and started to rush down the hallway that he came from. 'I have to go meet up with Kabuto or he's just going to give me some stupid lecture about being late' the sharingan warrior thought to himself as he quickened his pace.

. . . Line Break . . .

A man in a white lab coat walked down the hallway with a clipboard perched underneath his arm. His walk was not one with long strides, but instead one with lagging steps. His gaze was not fixed straight ahead and instead wandered along the walls and the doors surrounding him. It was clear that either he did not have any plans that required his immediate attention, or that he just had a carefree attitude about his duties. He was an older teen and he had short brown hair. His eyes were also brown, but of a much darker shade. He wore a lighthearted smile on his face and in general he seemed to be a relaxed person.

Although he looked different, the older teen in the white lab coat was none other than Kabuto Yakushi. After finishing picking out his suspects, he set out to do his investigating and his approach was much different that his raven haired partner's. While Sasuke used his ninja stealth to stay hidden so that he could be an outside spectator, Kabuto used his transformation jutsu to change his appearance to look like one of the lab assistants so that he could observe the doings of the base as an insider.

The medical ninja had chosen to take on the form of an assistant named Seiji. There were a few different reasons behind his choice. The first was that Seiji was not a person that Kabuto had picked out as a person who would possibly be linked to the information leak. Also, he wanted to be a lab assistant because he knew that being one of the actual scientists and researchers would attract too much attention. Being a researcher would mean he would have more duties and thus less time to actually investigate. And the last reason was that Seiji was an assistant for several different scientists, with a few of them being on Kabuto's list of suspects.

So, with his alias chosen, the medic sought out the real Seiji and used genjustsu to put him to sleep while Kabuto was using his identity. However, Kabuto knew that just looking like Seiji would not be enough to fulfill his purposes. That is why he studied the profile of him and also followed him around for a while before-hand so that he could learn his personality. He needed to act just like Seiji would otherwise it would be obvious that he was a fake. That was why Kabuto wandered around so carefree with a blithe smile on his face. The mednin was known for his mischievous smirk, but he was not too fond of genuine smiles. But, it was necessary for the situation that he had at hand. He would do what he had to; it just irked him how happy this Seiji person seemed to be.

As he walked in the form of Seiji, Kabuto was heading towards the lab assistants' lounge. It was Seiji's scheduled break time and the medical ninja had just finished assessing a patient in one of the labs. It was the third researcher that Kabuto had assisted that day, but he was not able to find any leads to the information leak. 'Well, if I talk with some of the other assistants or even just listen in on their conversations, I should be able to get some sort of clue' he said to himself as he walked into the room.

The room was rather small. There was no need for a large one as many of the assistants had breaks at different times. Several wooden tables were scattered around the room. Some of the tables were surrounded by groups, while some had just one person at them, and others remained unoccupied. The medic glanced around the room for a few seconds and as far as his knowledge, he did not recognize any of the people to be an acquaintance of Seiji. In return, he sat at one of the empty tables in the corner of the room. It would seem odd to the people around him if Seiji started to talk to people he normally did not talk to, so instead he sat pretending to read a book, but was actually listening to what the people around him were saying.

After a few minutes, he saw a girl approaching his table. He still sat at his table waiting to see what she did first. She was a petite girl around sixteen years old with shoulder length silver hair and blazing blue eyes that seemed to pierce right through Kabuto. The shinobi with the rounded glasses recognized her to be someone that Seiji was acquainted to as she stopped in front of him with her arms crossed at her chest. "So you decided to mix things up a bit by sitting at a different table today, huh?" she asked him. The teen that was in the form of Seiji looked up from his book with a wide smile that was happy to see his friend. "Of course; have to keep things interesting around here, Haru-chan" he responded while broadening his grin.

At that moment, Kabuto felt the girl's hand slap against the left side of his face. He was completely shocked and taken aback by the action, but still he forced himself to hold his smile as he knew that was what Seiji would do. "I told you a million times not to call me that like I am some little girl. I am a lab assistant, the same rank as you" she snapped with an irritated look. Kabuto was able to salvage a look around the room from the corner of his eye. The medical ninja was able to conclude from the reactions of the other people in the room (which has not even a glance), that the event of Haru slapping Seiji was not an uncommon one. Then he turned his attention back to the girl standing in front of him "You are too harsh" he chuckled. She gave him a sarcastically shocked face "Is that so?" she said while sitting down in the seat across from him.

"Now . . ." she said, lowering her voice a bit so that the others in the room could not hear, but not so much that it was a whisper "were you able to get that data file from that old geezer?" she asked. Again the girl left the medic shocked, but that time he was also pleased. He had found his lead. It was clear that Haru and Seiji were both perpetrators in the information leak. The medical shinobi was surprised as he would not expect a couple of low class assistants to be behind the crime. But perhaps that was why they were successful in their operation; no one suspected them.

Then, Kabuto focused on what she actually said so he could play his cards right to get some more information on their operation and find out if there were more people involved in the leak. From the fact that she said 'old geezer', the medical shinobi knew exactly which scientist she was referring to. He was the first one that the medic assisted that day. And apparently Seiji was supposed to steal the information he collected from his research. The ninja in the form of Seiji quickly came up with his excuse "Meh, the old man was pretty attentive today. I didn't get my chance" he said. Haru just shrugged "Well it's your funeral. The boss is gonna be pretty mad that you didn't get. But I got mine; it's safe and sound" she said patting a file that was concealed in the bag on her back. "I'm sure he'll understand" Kabuto said with a confident smile. Haru raised an eyebrow "Uh, huh. We'll see about that. Let's just go deliver this one first. He'll be waiting". They both stood up and walked out of the area "Of course" he replied, with his usual smile.

As they continued walking, Haru looked to face the teen beside her. "Did you know what I heard? Orochimaru sent a couple of higher ups to find us out" she said in a low voice. That piece of information was obviously not surprising to Kabuto, but he gave a shocked expression none-the-less. "Really?" he asked. "Yes" she responded "But you don't need to worry. Hayate-san has found one of them and is going to take care of that guy real easy. You know how he is"

'So there is one other person involved in the leak besides Haru, Seiji and their boss.' Kabuto thought. 'And he is after Sasuke'

. . .

Closing Note:

I know this chapter did not have any fights in it. It was meant more to show the two ninja's investigating skills (yeah kind of obvious, I know). But the next chapter is the climatic part of the first arc of this fic, so there will be a couple different fights. So look forward to it and for now comment, fav and follow.


	3. Discovering

_**Following the Snake**_

Opening Note:

Greetings! I got to hold a python at my uni; it was pretty awesome. Yeah, I guess this fic just made me think of that *laughs*. As you all know, I do not own Naruto because I am not Masashi Kishimoto. Well, onto the story.

. . .

**Chapter 3: Discovering**

Upon arriving at the office for the second time that day, he sunk into one of the chairs surrounding the oversized desk. The chair creaked under him and broke the silence of the room. The person whom he was to meet was not there and as he looked up to the clock hanging upon the wall over the desk, he could see that the time was a minute after 5 o'clock. He had rushed through the corridors of the base thinking that he would be the one who was late. Although the raven haired Uchiha was relieved that he was not late, his agitation was still brought on in the absence of the silver haired medic. He drummed his fingers on the wooden desk which in turn let out a soft thumping noise as each finger made contact upon the flat surface. 'This is not like him' Sasuke thought to himself 'he is a jerk, but he would not just tell me to come here and then not show up'.

The teen with the sharingan pondered on what could have happened and then started to list his options in his head when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned in his seat, ready to scold the shinobi with the rounded glasses, but then noticed that it was not him. He leaned back into his seat "What do you want?" he scowled at the figure standing in the doorway.

The man standing at the door was taken aback from the rude attitude he had received from the younger teen. However, Sasuke was unable to tell as he hid his expression well and his eyes were almost completely masked by a bowl of straight rust orange hair that circled his head. He wore the same long white lab coat that everyone at the base seemed to wear. The older teen decided to give his greeting "Hello Sasuke-san. My name is Hayate" he said in a voice that tried to be cordial, even though he had received no such pleasantry himself. "I have been sent by the head of our base to invite you to dine with her. If you will just follow me" he said while gesturing towards the hallway. There was a conflicted look painted upon the robed ninja's face. "Sure I would like to come and talk to her, but I am waiting for someone" he said. The young man in the doorway thought for a second "Would that person be Kabuto-san?" he asked. The Uchiha peered up to the man's face, trying to read it "Yes. Have you seen him at all?" the raven haired boy inquired. "No, I haven't. But another assistant has been sent to summon him to dinner as well, so I am sure that he is on his way." he responded. After a second Sasuke stood up "Alright" he said. "Excellent. Right this way" Hayate replied as he led Sasuke out of the room.

The Uchiha felt a bit peeved at the medic, but he hoped that things would be straightened out upon his arrival. The young man with the orange bowled hair also had something on his mind. But he was at ease. Things were going according to his plan.

After a minute, Hayate stopped at a door and held it open for the shinobi behind him. As the raven haired teen walked in, he could tell that it was a conference room. There was not much to it except for a long rectangular table in the center. Cups and sets of chopsticks were out for each chair. The thing that bothered Sasuke though, was the fact that all of the chairs were empty. "Where is everyone?" he asked, turning towards the man who followed him into the room. "We are just a little early. They will be arriving in a few minutes" he assured as he walked over to the table and grabbed a large teapot that was in the center. "Please sit and have some tea" he said while gesturing to the teapot in his hand.

The teen with the sharingan felt uneasy. More specifically, he could not shake the notion that Kabuto could have found a lead. That at that moment, the medic was close to solving the case and that was why he did not show up their chosen meeting place. That speculation was what made him uneasy. The Uchiha did not want the mednin to get ahead while he just sat doing nothing. All of those thoughts ran through Sasuke's head in just a matter of seconds. Then he suddenly turned around and headed for the door.

"Ridiculous. I don't have time for this nonsense" the raven haired ninja huffed. By that time, it did not surprise Hayate that the young ninja did not want to cooperate. The older teen let out a soft sigh. He had hoped he would have been able to complete his mission without having to bother using force. He swiftly set the teapot down and then rushed to the door to block Sasuke's way. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that" he said to the Uchiha who was shocked by the man's impressive speed.

"And you think that you'll be able to stop me?" the raven haired teen scoffed while activating his sharingan. Hayate pulled out two short thin swords that were concealed within his lab coat. "Yes. This is where you die".

. . . Line Break . . .

"He said something about using poisoned tea" Haru explained. "It's best that he keeps things simple and quick. We don't want to leave any trails that can lead back to us" she continued, her wide eyes looking to her accomplice beside her. "What about the other one?" asked the medic in the form of Seiji. "I don't know" she responded with a shrug "Hayate-san was supposed to be keeping tabs on both of them throughout the day, but he could never find the second one" She paused for a moment "which I don't really understand because he said the first one seemed skilled in stealth tactics, but Hayate-san was still able to find him easily. What could the second one be doing differently that Hayate-san can't find him?" Haru said, rambling. By that point she was more thinking aloud rather than actually questioning the man next to her, but he offered a suggestion nonetheless "Maybe he is just one of those guys who skips out on a mission" he proposed with a chuckle. "But he is one of the higher ups so I doubt he would be one to disobey orders" Haru retorted. "Otherwise Orochimaru would have disposed of him a long time ago" Kabuto said, finishing the blue eyed girl's thought. "Exactly" she responded while running a hand through her lustrous silver hair. She was silent for a moment after that as her gaze met the dark brown orbs at her side. "We will just have to leave that little mystery to Hayate-san" she remarked. "Well, as frustrating as it might be to find that guy, Hayate-kun still has the easier job since we have to deal with boss" Seiji pointed out, his ever-wide smile stretching farther across his face. "Yeah" Haru agreed, pursing her lips.

She then turned her attention back to the corridor that they were walking in. The corridors were mostly quiet and sparsely populated, but during the evening they were even more so. When they reached the end of the hall, Haru turned towards one of the doors, but Kabuto rushed in front of her and held the door open "Ladies first" he snickered. The petite girl merely rolled her eyes as she passed him into the room. The disguised shinobi was surprised that he did not receive another slap for that.

The room was a lab and from the dust and extremely old equipment, Kabuto concluded that it received very little use. 'Which is why they would use it in their operation' the mednin thought to himself. The silver haired girl headed to the back of the room where there was a door labeled 'emergency exit'. Normally, those kinds of doors would be armed with security devices of some sort as a security precaution. It would be inconvenient if an intruder were to use such a door to infiltrate the base, or if a subject were to use it as a means of escape. However, it was clear that there was no such security on that particular door as Haru opened it with no apparent consequences. The medic was not sure whether that was due to a lack of maintenance to the lab or whether the girl and the rest of her subordinates were able to deactivate its security discretely at some point in their operation. Either way, he followed the petite girl through the exit and was immediately greeted by the soft orange glow of the evening sun.

The exit had led them outside of the back of the base. The pair walked farther away from the base and once they reached the forest, they began to travel through the trees. After a while, Haru stopped and rested against the trunk of a tree and folded her arms across her chest. Kabuto figured that from the amount of time they had been traveling, they were about three kilometers from the base. The blue eyed girl let out a huff as she looked at the ground, waiting. The medical ninja stood across from here and then stuffed his hands in his pockets. He knew exactly what they were waiting for. They were waiting for the boss and that was obviously the designated meeting spot. After waiting for a while, there was a rustling of the leaves in the tree above them. Kabuto looked up towards the origin of the noise, but only saw a black blur as a figure jumped down from the tree and then stood in front of him and Haru.

The boss was extremely tall and towered over his two subordinates. Not much of his head was showing save for two glowing green eyes. The rest of his head was covered by a white hood and a black mask. On his forehead was a Takigakure headband with a slash through the middle of it, showing that he was an ex-ninja of the village. From what could be seen of his skin, it was a dark tan color. He slung a briefcase over his shoulder which pulled up his sleeve so that his one arm could be seen and it looked as though it had been stitched together. Though, the first thing that Kabuto noticed about the boss was that he wore a long black cloak that was covered with red cloud patterns. The sound ninja immediately recognized the uniform and knew that he was a member of Akatsuki. Over the years, Kabuto and Orochimaru had collected data on the Akatsuki, however the medic did not recall the member standing before him.

"Hello Kakuzu-sama" the petite girl greeted while bowing to her boss. For a moment, the medical ninja pulled himself out of his shock about who the mastermind behind the operation was so that he could mimic Haru's action. He had gotten the answer he wanted and the thief was before his eyes, but he still needed to play the part of Seiji. To reveal himself and then try to take down Kakuzu would be a death wish. Kabuto was unaware of his specific abilities, but he was a member of Akatsuki so he had to be strong. Also, the mednin had no idea if the rest of Akatsuki was involved in the plot or if they were nearby. Briefly, to take the offensive at that point would be running in blind. He had to analyze the situation a bit more under the protection of Seiji before he could take action. Those thoughts ran through his head as he bowed before tall robed man and then resumed his standing position.

Kakuzu brought his briefcase "Did you two bring the data files?" he asked, his voice impatient. Haru pulled out a scroll from a pocket in her coat "Yes; here are the experiments you want" she said holding it out to him. He snatched from her hand and then placed it into his briefcase. The Akatsuki member then turned to Seiji with a questioning look in his eyes. The young man with short brown hair stretched his smile, narrowing his eyes "The old man was pretty alert today; I didn't get my chance" he repeated the story he had told Haru earlier. A nervous tone could be heard in his voice but his expression showed no such fear. The girl with the blue eyes could tell that Kakuzu was angry and was about to go off. She really did not want to see her partner be killed in cold blood since the Akatsuki member had a tendency to do such things, so she spoke up. "We were all pretty busy. We have a problem with some investigators and right now Hayate-san is dealing with one of them" she said. There was agitation in the tan shinobi's eyes "I need that data before I get another assignment from Akatsuki otherwise I won't have time to sell it. And if I lose money because you three are incapable of doing a simple task, you will all be dead" he barked. "Understood" Haru said with a bow and Kabuto followed suit.

With that conversation, Kabuto understood. Kakuzu was conducting the operation separate from Akatsuki. It was a side job so that he could make money by selling the data on experiments from the sound village. That realization made the medical shinobi feel a little better about the situation he was in because he would only have to deal with one Akatsuki member.

Kakuzu flug his briefcase back onto his shoulder and turned away from the pair. "Alright, but you better dispose those investigators and have that data to me by tomorrow morning" He pause for a second and then turned his head so his eyes met theirs "otherwise, you know what will happen" he finished and then disappeared into the trees.

The silver haired girl chewed her lip in anxiety "Well, we better go find Hayate so that we can help him and then we will look for that file" she said. "How about you go look for Hayate and I will find the file. It was the file I was supposed to get anyways" The brown eyed man responded. Haru looked a little uncertain, but then finally agreed. "Alright, I guess it will save time if we split up" she said. "Well, see you later" Seiji said with his signature grin. Then the two both disappeared into the trees as both set on different objectives.

'Excellent' Kabuto thought to himself as he headed in the direction that the robed man had gone. He decided that it would be to his advantage to tail Kakuzu until it was dark and then make his attack so that he could retrieve the information that he held in the briefcase. Then he could reveal the names of the others involved and the case would be solved. As he continued through the forest, he remembered Sasuke and just hoped that he would be able to defeat Hayate. However, he did not have much thinking space to worry about the Uchiha since he was the one who was going to have to take down Kakuzu.

. . . Line Break . . .

The young man with the rust orange hair held his thin swords out. He pointed them towards Sasuke and then rushed forward. The red eyed ninja was surprised by the other man's incredible speed, but he was still able to easily dodge it using his sharingan. The Uchiha jumped backwards with his feet landing against the wall and his knees bent. He then used the wall to thrust himself forward as he drew his own sword. The three swords impacted each other with a clang of metal and the two men's faces were only feet apart as they were engaged in close combat.

"Heh, a tea party; that was a pretty lame farce" the raven haired shinobi taunted as their swords parted. "Well, I figured that a stupid dog of Orochimaru would easily fall for that" Hayate shot back as he swung one blade over his head for an attack while the other blade was in front of him to shield off a possible counterattack. "It's a shame you couldn't have just drunk the tea and died an easy death. Now you will have to die in agony" the double bladed swordsman continued as he brought his sword down on the Uchiha who blocked it with his katana.

"You're annoying" Sasuke said as he backed away from the clash. "That is why I'm ending this now" He was about to sheath his sword and prepare a final attack with chidori when he noticed a purple liquid on his blade. He examined it carefully for a few seconds while keeping a close eye on his opponent. 'Wait, this is . . .' the purple robed ninja thought when he was interrupted by the voice on the other side of the room "So you've noticed?" Hayate asked, laughing at the other shinobi's shocked expression. The raven haired shinobi knew that the liquid was poison, but he was still confused as to how the other man was able to use it without him even noticing until that point.

Hayate could see the confusion in his opponent's eyes and decided to clarify. "Yes, creating poison from skin is my specialty" he said as he held his arms out, still grasping his swords, and then let more of the purple liquid discharge from the pores of skin on his arms. The liquid ran down his arm and then covered the blades that he grasped. A psychotic grin appeared on the red haired man's face as he saw the look of disgust that Sasuke held. "And you won't want to touch it" he continued "because although I am immune to its effects, it will eat through your flesh until it infects your bloodstream and you die" he said while posing to attack with his freshly coated blades.

The sharingan user cursed in his head. He knew that he would not be able to use his chidori on the poison user, otherwise the poison would touch his hand and that would be the end. As he was thinking over his options, he slashed his katana in front of him to intercept the attack from the other man who had crossed over to his side of the room. Sasuke used his sharingan to focus in on the opponent's fast moving blade to make sure that the poison would not drip onto him. Hayate noticed that the Uchiha was absorbed in watching the poison on his attacking blade, so he used the opportunity to sneak in another attack from the side with his other blade. Sasuke noticed the second attack at the last moment and immediately jumped backwards, barely avoiding being scratched by the blade.

"Che" the red eyed shinobi grunted as he backed away from Hayate to the other side of the room, frustration painted on his face. He saw Hayate smirk since his ability gave him the advantage in the fight. 'Close combat is too risky' the younger teen thought to himself 'And I won't be able to get ahead since I have to be cautious of his swords and his poison; which means that I am going to have to use some long range attacks'.

The Uchiha tossed his katana onto the ground so that the poison on the blade would not get on him. Then he stood up straight and began to form various hand signs: rat, tiger, dog, ox, rabbit and tiger. He took in a deep breath "Fire style: phoenix flower jutsu!" he yelled and then balls of fire began to shoot out in towards Hayate. The poison user jumped from side to side swiftly to dodge each flaming orb. Sasuke did not like the idea of using fire jutsu inside a building instead of outside. However, the structure was made of stone and dirt from underground so it would not catch fire. And he also did not really have a choice since he needed an attack for long range combat.

Hayate attempted to approach Sasuke as he dodged the fire balls; however he was not able to do both and thus was stuck at a distance. "Hmph, you think you could stop me by switching to long range attacks? Well two can play at that game" the red head scoffed while dodging another flame attack. He backed off and sheathed his swords. The man held his arms out once again and then closed his eyes to focus himself. A large amount of purple poison began to emerge from his skin, but unlike before, it did not fall or drip and instead it levitated. The poison began to move into a long whip-like form and Sasuke realized that Hayate was able to control the movement and shape of the liquid. The poison user shot his hand forward and the whip of purple followed and headed for an attack towards Sasuke. The Uchiha quickly released a flame towards the whip, hoping the fire would stop it. However, it did not work and he had to dodge at the last second.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and frowned as he realized that the battle was more difficult than he expected. The whip of poison came his way once again. He jumped away from its path and shot a fire ball while doing so, hoping to get an attack in. After a few minutes of dodging the poison and shooting flames with no success, the raven haired shinobi realized that he was being placed back into the defensive and that his strategy was no longer working.

The Uchiha decided to take a new approach to his attack and jumped up high onto one of the walls, pushing the chakra to his feet so that he could stand there. He then began to run around and around sideways onto the wall, building up incredible speed. The first few times around, he still had to dodge the poison whips because he was not yet going fast enough. However, after several laps, he seemed like just a blur as he moved around and getting an attack on him was out of the question.

As the sharingan warrior reached an astounding speed, he gathered up his depleting chakra to prepare for his final attack. He formed hand signs again, but a different combination: snake, tiger, monkey, boar, horse and tiger. He took in anther deep breath and yelled "Fire style: fire ball jutsu!" and like before he blew fire as he held his fingers up to his mouth. However, that time it was only one ball of fire and it was much larger than the others. With his fast pace, he was able to hit Hayate as he had planned.

After taking down his target, Sasuke walked over to where the poison was lying burnt on the ground. "Tell me what you know" he demanded "Are you working alone in this operation or are there others? Where is the stolen data?" The man on the ground looked up at the ninja looming over him "Ha, I'm afraid I can't tell you where the data is: my boss would be pretty angry about that. But I guess that answers your other question" he responded. "Well where is this boss of yours and where is Kabuto?" he shouted back. "I don't know, but I would guess that my other subordinates have already taken care of him" Hayate said with a laugh. "You just keep avoiding my questions" Sasuke said with frustration and kicked the other man in the side. Black soot fluttered off of his smooth orange hair.

The Uchiha stared at the ground as he tried to figure out a way to make the man talk. He needed some more information; however he knew that Hayate was not willing to talk. Also, the raven haired ninja was not very well versed in how to conduct an interrogation. Then out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the orange haired man was producing more poison, but trying to hide it under his sleeve. Sasuke knew he had no choice. He could not afford to waste more time and chakra on an unnecessary battle. He quickly snatched his katana from off the ground and struck Hayate with the side of the blade and the poison user passed out. The raven haired ninja did not stab him with the sword because even if the blow did not kill him, the blood from the wound could. And it was necessary to get information out of him later, so he could not die.

Sasuke exited the room and locked the door from the outside with a seal so Hayate would not get out, just in case he happened to regain consciousness. The young ninja had caught one of the culprits and was certain that Kabuto must have ran into the others involved. All that was left to do was to find out where Kabuto was, and they could finish up the case. The only problem was that he had no idea where medical ninja was.

. . .

Closing Note:

Yes, I was going originally going to have this chapter be the last of this first arc, but I could not without making it super long. So, the conclusion will be in the next chapter. Stay tuned and don't forget to comment, fav, etc.


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